Everence Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,730 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,640 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Lincluden Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 264,644 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 4,562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.8% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 33,916 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.2% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 31,632 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $9.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $25.87. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of -0.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.02.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.53%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.58.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.